Get your creative juices flowing with your leftover Easter ham. Everything from crepes to croquettes, ham is a great addition to any weeknight meal.

Let's face it, there is going to be leftover ham after Easter and this is a good thing. Here is a great recipe for ham crepes with cheese sauce that is just one way to deal with your wealth of leftovers. (Photo courtesy of National Pork Board)

One of the good things about making a ham for Easter (and believe me, there are a many good things about Easter ham) is the undeniable fact that a ham is, by nature, quite large.

In short, it is nigh impossible to find a small ham. Larger is almost always better when it comes to hams.

So when making the decision to make a ham the centerpiece of your Easter feast, most people (me) prefer to go large when it comes to the back end of a hog. I feel like if you’re going to go to the effort to cook one of these beasts you should just as soon cook one of the largest ones you can find.

Why? Because ham is not only delicious as a main dish for the main meal, it is also a versatile element in making a world of tasty leftover dishes.

There are literally a million ways to put leftover ham to its best use. Minimalists like me are content to make a tasty ham and cheese melt (like the one I had for lunch today) or to fry some up for a dinnertime breakfast of ham and eggs.

Somebody with the wherewithal can whip up a tasty ham strata, ham frittata or ham casserole and all you need is a little leftover ham.

We can’t forget the bone. I almost always buy a bone-in ham because one of the best parts of the leftover ham experiences comes not from the meat itself but from the ham.

The first Monday after Easter is a great opportunity to make a pot of traditional New Orleans red beans and rice with the aforementioned ham bone as the chief flavor agent.

So you see, the ham is more than just a wonderful way to celebrate the arrival of spring, it’s also a reason to celebrate all the many ways you can eat it after the fact.

OK, here is a new recipe from the folks at the National Pork Board. The tartness of the apples pairs well with the savory flavor of the ham and the cheese.

And if you’ve never made crepes before, now is your chance to get it a whirl. Stay tuned for more tasty ham leftover recipes, as well as some new ways to prepare the ham itself, in these few days left before Easter.

Ham, Apple and Cheddar Crepes

6 servings

Ingredients:

3 cups ham, shredded and warmed

1¾ cups milk (2 percent)

¼ cup unsalted butter, melted

4 large eggs

½ teaspoon salt

1½ cups flour

1 Granny Smith apple, halved, cored and thinly sliced

Cheese Sauce:

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

1 tablespoon flour

1 cup milk (2 percent)

2 teaspoons Dijon-style mustard

¼ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon pepper

1 cup white Cheddar cheese, shredded

2 tablespoons fresh chives, finely chopped

Instructions:

Pour the milk, butter, eggs and salt in a blender. Mix until well combined. Add the flour. Mix for 15 to 20 seconds or until smooth. Let stand for 10 minutes.

Heat an 8-inch crêpe pan or a nonstick skillet over medium heat. Coat well with nonstick cooking spray. Pour 1/4 cup batter into the pan, swirl to fully cover the bottom of the pan. Cook for 1 minute or until crêpe begins to curl around the edges.

Carefully flip and cook for an additional 30 seconds or until set. Transfer to a plate. Repeat with additional cooking spray and remaining batter. Layer cooked crêpes between pieces of wax paper to prevent sticking.

Lay a crêpe on a clean work surface. Arrange a few slices of apple on a quarter of the crêpe; top with shredded ham. Fold the crêpe in half to cover the filling and fold in half again to create a triangular shape. Repeat with remaining crêpes, apple and ham. Place on a parchment-lined baking sheet and hold in a warm oven until ready to serve or up to 30 minutes.

For the cheese sauce, melt the butter in a saucepan set over medium heat. Stir in the flour until well coated. Cook, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes or until pale and smooth.

Whisk in the milk, a splash at a time, until smooth; stir in the mustard, salt and pepper. Cook, stirring constantly, for 5 minutes or until thick enough to coat the back of the spoon. Remove from heat. Whisk in the cheese, a small handful at a time, until melted and smooth.

Place filled crêpes on each plate. Spoon warm cheese sauce over each serving and sprinkle with chives.